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Yeah, I was trying to look for information as well. This reviewer says that he wears 10.5/11 in sneakers and boots, and a 44 was snug for him? I wear 10.5 wolverines and 11.5 sneakers so I was thinking about going for the 45.

Had I known that there would be a natty CXL offered I would have held out. I ordered on the first drop but I think my wardrobe could use a natural CXL boot more than another dark brown. I'd prefer to wait to receive this pair and take a look at the quality before taking a gamble on another

I'm a bit confused. If you go on the Chevalier website, it says that the boots retail for $170. And it also states that if anything is out of stock, you can place an order with them - just state the season and product name. Then pay them via paypal and it'll take 30 working days after the payment is received. If that's the case, why wait for it to drop on massdrop and then pay $250 MSRP or $199 with the 20person quota?

Chev is using 4-5 oz cxl. Viberg uses different oz weights depending on what they are making. I cannot speak for the oz weight of Rancourt or Highland or PW Minor but it's probably around 5-6 oz which is pretty standard.

It's not really the oz weight that matters it's the selectivity of the cutters.

I am saying that Viberg is more selective with there clicking/cutting of the hides, yes.

I have had excellent, excellent cutting from Highland and Rancourt. The best cutting I have ever seen on any pair of shoes, from Chippewa to Crockett and Jones handgrade was on some Highland blucher mocs that I owned.

I will tell you right now that Chevalier is not as selective with their cutting as say Rancourt or Highland and you can visually see it in many of their stock photographs. CXL is significantly more expensive for a company like Chevalier than Rancourt or Highland. There are significant volume discounts that a larger manufacturer like Rancourt and Highland will receive, and international shipping is not cheap.

Yes, just due to the oz weight. A thicker leather is going to be more durable, generally speaking, than a thinner leather for a pair of boots. But I don't think anyone would actually put these boots through any actual labor that would necessitate thicker uppers. For a casual boot, like I said previously, it's not the oz weight (say 5 oz versus 8 oz cxl) that really matters, it's just the selectivity of the cutters that ultimately matters in producing a quality end product. The boots are lined as well.

As long as you're conditioning uppers that have deep creasing, the durability most likely won't be significantly affected.

To me, this comes down to aesthetics and not durability of the uppers. Do I think this is a "for life" boot? No. But that is a separate question.

Yeah, I was really set on getting these until I saw that first picture during the 1st massdrop order. Frankly, I think it's pretty ugly and not what I'd really want my shoes to look like after a while. Though, the 2nd picture looks okay. Maybe it's just the color in that first one but it really turned me off of Chevalier, though I do like the shape of the boot and how it looks out of the box.

well lets remember that a single photo or even a group of photos is not wholly representative of a single company. These pictures are illustrative of my point, but if I looked I could probably also find photos where the creasing is less severe.

(You are probably well aware of this, I just want to say this in case anyone else is reading and is still making their decision)

Just a note on grades. The grades are actually determined on a comparative level. Since you can't necessarily grade the leather based on a set of qualifications, they're graded in relation to the other hides in the same production run. So an 'A' grade hide could be flawless one time and then have multiple abnormalities the next time.

I would assume it would definitely be after they're tanned and finished since some cuts/holes and such can occur during those processes. I have an email out to my Horween connection to verify for sure.

The first area is when we sort the hides in what is called the blue or wet white stage. This is prior to the leather being re-tanned and finished and we look at the overall grade of the leather and weight of each skin to determine the proper placement of the hide for our leather production.

After the leather is re-tanned and before finishing, we will then do a crust sort to make sure the proper grades are going into the finishing department. At this stage, we can pull out sides that we think will not make it through the final sorting procedure.

The last sort in our final sort where we review each and every side that is finished. We are looking to make sure the leather meets a number of criteria against a specific order. These are ( and are not limited to):

interesting side note - i missed the first drop by a couple days and ordered direct from chevalier (no discount) the secret brown model... they indicated 60 business days but actually got them within 6 weeks. Love them - very comfy, some minor things could be improved (stitching wise) but overall happy with the buy.

Really nice looking boot. But for 220 of 250 MSRP the deal is kinda weak for me. Considering you could get a pair of Wolverine 1k cap toe Rockfords for significantly less, US made, and great return policy from STP, I personally wouldn't be too keen on pulling the trigger

Yes I am well aware of what it says on MD. You answered your own question with the second image. What Chevalier calls a "rubber pad" is commonly referred to as a "topy". It's just an outsole cover and it is not a full vibram outsole.

I have been in communication with Chevalier and they do not have full vibram outsoles outside of the christie, 2060, and the 2021, which are all just wedge sole variants, and those soles are for only goodyear welted boots, not for the b/r boots. The b/r boots all have leather outsoles with the possible addition of the vibram outsole cover. It's just a terminology error on massdrop's part.

The MD listing also clearly states that the boots provide "high grade toe protection", so I would take everything that MD says with a grain of salt.

Would I be able to order these in 11EE? It's very difficult for me to buy shoes due to my wide feet. I wanted a pair of Clarks Original Desert Boots but they don't seem to exist in 11EE. These would be even better if my size is available.